'Strap on those high heels and let's go, girls' - Towradgi influencer inspires 84,000 to embrace their 50s

Beaming from the squares of her vibrant Instagram grid, it seems Marion Maclean is the personification of her Instagram handle: embrace_the_50s.

With a social media page characterised by her distinctive waist-length hair, seemingly endless wardrobe and legs, legs, legs, it’s hard to imagine the Towradgi author, social media influencer and disability support worker has been short of confidence a day in her life.

The truth is the hair is less a signature look than a security blanket and is one of the many outcomes of an arduous journey to self-acceptance.

“We weren’t allowed to grow our hair in the institutional homes we spent all those years,” she says.

“It was always kept short because of nits. And I would cut it short whenever I went through a bad time mentally.

“I guess it was a kind of sabotage or perhaps a question of control. So in a way, my hair today is like a banner for the positive place I am in now.”

Some of her earliest memories are of these institutional homes she and her brother were separated into following the death of her mother when Marion was five. Eventually, their dad remarried and moved the family to Mount Druitt.

“We loved it. I lived in a cul-de-sac with 21 other kids, but Mount Druitt had the nickname ‘Dodge City’ and a lot of problems with high unemployment and crime,” Marion says.

“Dad didn’t want us getting caught up in the drug scene, so we played a lot of sports.”

Marion would later develop anorexia athletica, a disorder characterised by an obsessive focus on low body weight, usually achieved through excessive physical activity and calorie control.

When she landed a job managing a gym in Penrith, she found a way to essentially work out 40 hours a week.

“At that point I was living and breathing the gym and for many years, it was perfect. Until it wasn’t,” she says.

Marion got married and wanted to have children, but years of thrashing her metabolic system had decimated her estrogen levels, and she had stopped ovulating.

She tried medication to kick-start it, IVF, and gaining weight, but nothing worked.

“I thought you could achieve any goal if you worked hard enough, including getting pregnant,” she says.

“In hindsight that was about control, and it was devastating to discover I could not control this.”

Her mental health deteriorated, her marriage fell apart, and following a breakdown, she left the gym. Coming down from the endorphins of 40 hours of exercise a week was like “coming off a drug”, and Marion bottomed out.

In a search for answers, she dug up her mother’s coroner’s report.

In her first book, Defeating Anorexia Athletica, Marion reveals what she discovered about her mother, who died by suicide when Marion was five following a struggle with mental ill health triggered by the chronic use of the slimming drug Dexatrim counteracted with “downers”.

Not wanting to go down that path, Marion picked herself up and in 1995, reached a turning point.

While in Hawaii watching her brother, John Maclean, make history as the first wheelchair athlete to finish the course at the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon, she met her future husband and went on to have a daughter.

It was her daughter who suggested she use Instagram as a platform to share her story and message to a broader audience following the launch of her first book at Novotel North Wollongong. Marion initially laughed it off.

“I thought I was too old to be relevant on social media, but she showed me all these women in the 50s and 60s, some with hundreds of thousands of followers worldwide, sharing their messages,” she says.

“As you might’ve figured, I don’t do things by halves; my glass is always overflowing, so I went all out.”

Today Marion’s account has garnered an impressive following of more than 84,000 individuals who have embraced and connected with her on her journey of thriving in her 50s, and she has collaborated with companies locally and globally.

Many of her followers would be surprised to learn that 95 per cent of the fashion on her feed follows one of the six Rs of sustainability: reduce, reuse, repurpose, recycle, rent and resell.

“Across all age groups, there is a lack of understanding of the impact that textiles are having on our planet. An astounding 200 tonnes of textiles accumulate in landfills each year,” she says.

“I don’t own designer labels; I don’t buy anything in high-end fashion shops. I grew up in Dodge City after all. I prefer to shop in op shops and keep myself healthy and well-groomed.”

But it’s not the only message she uses her platform to send. A lot of it is about being two things: healthy and fabulous.

“I believe without your health you’ve got nothing. And ladies – resistance training is so important for keeping up muscle definition, strength and balance. Not so much the cardio,” she says.

“Keep your body moving. Do your 10,000 steps a day. And remember: self-care is not selfish. That term so often comes with a negative connotation and it shouldn’t. When you feel good about your physicality – whether it’s exercise or a trip to the hairdresser or nail salon – that’s good for your mental health.

“Age is just a number, so strap on those high heels and let’s go, girls.”

Marion has just launched her new book of meticulously curated imagery, stories and tips – Embracing the 50s.

Anyone experiencing distress can seek immediate advice and support through Lifeline (13 11 14), Kids Helpline (1800 55 1800), or the digital mental health gateway, Head to Health.
If you are concerned about suicide, living with someone considering suicide, or bereaved by suicide, the Suicide Call Back Service is available at 1300 659 467.